Veteran Japan-based instrumental rock band Mono return with Oath, their 12th full-length album of genre-defying contemporary classical orchestration and transcendental guitar soundscapes in a career that has spanned four decades. Recorded and mixed with longtime friend and collaborator, Steve Albini, Oath opens like a sunrise with a slowly ascending orchestra and brass section, the full band taking its time to revel in the atmosphere before joining in the splendour.

Throughout the album’s 71-minute runtime, Mono meditates on that theme of time and life in myriad ways. The unhurried evolution of a song that is a hallmark of Mono’s catalog is infused with an air of elegance that elevates Oath to new heights.

For fans of My Bloody Valentine, Pelican, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, This Will Destroy You, 65daysofstatic, Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky